State Defends Gun Law

Cheyenne, Wy – A lawyer for the state of Wyoming asked a panel of federal judges in Denver to uphold a state law that allows peopleconvicted of misdemeanor domestic violence to regain their firearmsrights. But an opposing federal lawyer representing the Bureau ofAlcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told the three-judgepanel that the state law fails to achieve its objective of makingthose with misdemeanor convictions eligible to own firearms again. To reach a decision in the case, the three judges with the 10thCircuit Court of Appeals will have to decide what Congress meantwhen it specified that states have authority to set aside orexpunge convictions that otherwise would bar citizens from gunownership. The case has attracted attention from groups on bothsides of the national gun-control debate.